


Full Blossom

by ChatterboxAngel



Category: Cardcaptor Sakura
Genre: F/F, F/M, Friendship, Gentle Feelings, Just a few minor detail changes, M/M, Manga Spoilers, Romance, Slow Build, manga-based, mostly canon compliant
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-03
Updated: 2016-10-03
Packaged: 2018-08-19 10:09:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,895
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8201353
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChatterboxAngel/pseuds/ChatterboxAngel
Summary: Snippets from Toya's and Yukito's life during the first year they knew each other: from the first time they met, to the first time they visited each other's houses to the first time they kissed. In other words, the story of how Yuki and Toya met and fell in love.





	

May 6th. Monday morning. The first day back to school after golden week. A series of short, high-pitched beeps. Silence. A couple of choruses of “Call me maybe”. Silence. A continuous blaring buzzer sound. A thud. A shout of despair shortly followed by pounding footsteps and a loud crash. Sakura had come running down the stairs in her long-sleeved school uniform and tripped on the last step, crashing face first into the floor below. 

Toya walked out from the kitchen, a half-eaten piece of toast in his hand, and saw the rather typical scene of his little sister in a tangled heap of limbs at the foot of the stairs. Chuckling as his expression morphed into a smirk, he said, “Careful there, little monster. You wouldn’t want to ruin your face any further. And on the first day back too.”

“Toya, you jerk,” the small girl shouted as she jumped up, green eyes alight with fury. She glared for only a moment longer before racing past him to grab her lunch from the refrigerator. Staring after her for a few seconds, the teenager just shrugged when nothing else happened, pulled on his jacket, and headed off to school. 

He was pedaling lazily on his bike, enjoying the view of the final cherry blossoms of spring in bloom when a familiar blur of bright pink and yellow protective gear came racing by. Without a single glance his way, she thrust her arm out, pushed him off balance, and sped on her way.  
There was a loud crash and some clangs as Toya tipped over, landing in a nearby bush, but it was nearly drowned out by the echoing bellow of “SAAAAKUUUUUUURAAAAAA!” that the young man let loose. He grumbled for a few moments as he stood up, brushed off the leaves, and tried to shake the lingering soreness out of his muscles. Glaring at the now empty pathway, Toya picked up his bike and checked for any damage. When he found there wasn’t any, he actually laughed as he got back on his bike and sped towards school.

A few minutes flew by, and he caught up to his sister. Falling into pace next to her, Toya reached over to pat her head as he commented, “Good one, little monster.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Sakura mumbled rolling her eyes and swatting his hand away. They continued in silence until they reached the elementary school where she turned inside, and he continued on.

~

Once inside his own classroom, Toya was ignoring the usual daily clamor of students socializing before the bell rang in favor of staring out the window at the cherry blossoms on the nearby tree. After all, Sakura had basically ruined his chance to appreciate them on the way to school, and they would soon be gone for a whole nother year. As he watched the thin branches swaying in the breeze, Toya noticed a ruffle of fabric out of the corner of his eye. Turning his head, he blinked in surprise when he saw his mother in a frilly white dress floating right outside the window. The branches stopped swaying as the breeze surrounded her alone, causing the ruffles of her white dress and the long, loose curls of her brown hair to swirl around her.

Smiling gently, she reached through the glass and dropped a yellow rose on his desk, saying, “Treat him with kindness.”

She waited until Toya had given her a slow, stilted nod of confirmation before disappearing in a series of dissolving sparkles. Left alone with the yellow rose, Toya picked up the flower and stared at it in confusion. What was he supposed to do with it? This was the first time his mother had appeared to him in almost a year, and her only message was “treat him with kindness”? Why appear now, after such a long absence? Why such a short visit? Who was this “he” she was talking about? It was only his first year of high school, and it wasn’t as though he was really close with anyone yet (no one he regularly ate lunch with, no one he hung out with during passing periods, and no one he walked home with everyday)…nor did he treat anyone particularly badly. (The monster didn’t count. She was his sister, after all). So, what did his mother want him to do?

His answer came when the teacher opened the door moments later and a strong gust of wind blew unbidden through the whole classroom. No one else noticed this wind, but Toya felt his own wind whip up in response and watched closely as the teacher walked in followed by a gentler breeze and a student with eyes the color of ice hidden behind a pair of wire-framed glasses and with hair the color of moonlight. A student that Toya had never seen before.

“Class, we have a new student,” the teacher said after having called the students to order and waiting for them all to settle. “This is Yukito Tsukishiro, he just transferred here from the countryside. Please welcome him.” There were a few half-hearted welcomes shouted from around the classroom, and a few of the girls near Toya were whispering excitedly about how handsome Yuki was. But beyond that, there wasn’t much reason for him to actually feel welcome. Still, the new student smiled warmly, thanked them, and introduced himself properly.

However, none of this is what caught Toya’s interest. Only the shimmer of air, only the swirl of wind that followed those who were magic held Toya’s focus. His eyes followed the new student’s progress until he sat down in a seat near the front of the room, waiting for some sort of acknowledgement, maybe just a nod in his direction, but the new student never even glanced his way. Had Yukito not noticed that Toya also possessed magic or did the other teen just not care?  
Homeroom and first period passed quickly, and the teacher was the first person out of the classroom at the start of the break. Most students immediately clumped together in their usual groups, but everyone was watching the lone transfer student. Yet, no one dared approach despite their interest and Yukito’s relaxed, friendly demeanor. There was an odd line of tension running through every other student’s body and an almost invisible wall dividing Yukito from everyone else. It reminded Toya of his own first day in this class when everyone had grouped up with old friends or nearby seat mates, but no one had approached him. At the time, Toya hadn’t approached anyone either; he hadn’t initiated contact with new people. He hadn’t wanted to.

Maybe that’s what his mother meant. Maybe she wanted him to start reaching out? Maybe it was time. Maybe it wouldn’t be so hard with someone more like him. Shrugging, Toya stood up, glanced at the empty place where the yellow rose had sat a mere second ago, and approached the new student to introduce himself. He ignored the odd rush of heat that ran through him when Yukito greeted him with a wide smile.

~

After that, Toya no longer waited around for his sister every morning for the opportunity to annoy her. He didn’t spend the ten minute breaks between classes alone, and he no longer ate lunch by himself in the library or quickly scarfed down a sandwich when the occasional group of guys on the soccer team invited him to join in the lunchtime scrimmage. He didn’t immediately race to his after school part time job or the library if he needed to study. Instead, Toya left a few minutes early to meet up with Yukito on his way to school. Instead, he spent his breaks talking to Yukito and most of his lunches eating with Yukito under the cherry blossom trees. Instead, he would linger after school to hang out with Yukito so long as it didn’t make him late for work.

The first day that Yuki invited him over to his house was the first day that they and Sakura started wearing their short-sleeved uniforms to school. The weather was finally getting warmer, but there had also been a surprise rain storm, so neither one of them had an umbrella. Since his home was much closer to the school than Toya’s, Yuki invited his friend over for the afternoon, promising a hot cup of cocoa and an umbrella if the rain didn’t let up before Toya had to go. More than willing to spend time with his friend over a half hour trip home in the rain, Toya accepted the invitation without a moment’s hesitation.

“Do you live alone?” Toya had asked with an incredulous voice as they walked into Yuki’s house. There were no cars out front, no tire tracks on the dirt drive, and no shoes in the entry way except their own.

“Technically, I live with my grandparents,” Yuki answered as he handed Toya a towel from the linen closet before grabbing one for himself as well. “But they like to travel a lot, so they’re hardly ever home.”

“It’s cool,” Toya replied looking around for any signs of other inhabitants and finding none. “Dad’s often away for digs or conferences cuz he’s an archaeology professor. I totally get it.”

“Yeah, but at least you’ve got your little sister for company,” Yuki sighed wistfully. “I’m jealous. More often than not, I spend my days alone.”

“Being alone isn’t so bad,” Toya commented. “But if really hate it that much, I’ll come over more often. And you should visit me sometime.” 

“I’d like that,” Yuki commented in a soft voice, a sad smile gracing his lips as he led Toya further into the house. Toya felt his heart do a little flip in his chest, but before he could examine it, Yuki was distracting him, asking him what he wanted to drink. 

For a few hours, they played video games and ate junk food, but something had started to really bother Toya. No matter where he went in the house, the only items visible were those that generally belonged to a teenage boy. Even in the bathroom, there was only one toothbrush. And though there were pictures of Yuki proudly displayed around the house, not one of them pictured his grandparents.

After that day, Toya found himself visiting Yuki’s house two or three times a week, sometimes staying for dinner or even over night, and his worry over the lack of a presence from Yuki’s grandparents only grew. He never once met them (in any form), and Yuki never shared stories about their supposed travels. Nothing ever seemed to move unless he or his friend touched it, and over time, a layer of dust built up on the ground in front of the grandparents’ perpetually closed bedroom door.

Coming to his own conclusions, Toya decided he wouldn’t press Yuki about it. His friend seemed to cling to the knowledge that his grandparents were always travelling. It wasn’t Toya’s place to question, but he also felt he had to do something. So, one day, he bought a small bouquet of dark crimson roses and took them over to his friend’s house.

Yuki’s expression seemed to be an odd combination of lost and sad, but he smiled wide in gratitude when offered Toya’s ready-made excuse.

“Someone left them at my part-time job, and no one else wanted them,” he lied. “And Sakura’s best friend is forever bringing flowers over to our place. I thought maybe you’d like these.”

“Thanks,” Yuki responded, and that was the last they spoke of it.

~

Still, Toya didn’t like the thought of Yuki always being alone in that big empty house; he wanted to draw Yuki away from the reliance on his not there grandparents. On the other hand, Toya didn’t want to make his intentions obvious, already having decided to support Yuki’s coping mechanisms. Thankfully, he had a perfect excuse. The first time Toya invited his friend over to his place, they had an exam coming up, so he had Yuki over “to study”. Under the guise of looking like he was serious about studying, Toya had holed them up in his bedroom with the door shut and the curtains closed. Toya had even silenced and covered the time on his clock “to free them from all distractions”. That afternoon, there was no noise other than the turning of pages, scribbling of pencils, and occasional discussion over a particularly puzzling concept, but to Toya, it was a thousand times better than the deafening silence of people not there. 

Hours passed by, and they both jumped a bit when a heavy knock sounded on the door and Sakura came barging in. 

“Toya, Dad says it’s…” she trailed off when her eyes landed on Yuki, and a bright red stain instantly appeared on her cheeks. Averting her eyes, Sakura continued to speak, but her words came out twice or thrice as fast as before, almost tumbling together. “Dadsaysit’stimefordinnerandthatyourfriendiswelcometojoinusifhewants. Okay. That’s it. Bye!”

As she slammed the door behind her, Toya could only stare at his door in silence as he listened to the sound of his sister half-stomping, half-running down the stairs. Of course, there was also a loud crash as she reached the bottom of them. Blinking twice, Toya let out a shakey laugh before turning to his friend and asking, “So, dinner?”

Yuki only smiled and nodded in response. Leaving their stuff where it was, they joined Sakura and Fujitaka at the kitchen table. His friend, of course, profusely thanked his father, commenting that everything looked and smelled absolutely wonderful. Toya, refusing to behave any differently just because Yuki was over, said, “Which dishes did the monster make? I don’t want to get sick.”

“Toya,” Fujitaka’s tone held no admonishing, only fondness and amusement, and the smile remained on his face. After all, the father knew exactly how the relationship between his two children worked.

“I already tried the soup,” Sakura growled. “And it tastes fine.” He was expecting the cracker that flew at him and easily caught it. However, he was completely unprepared for the pain that exploded through his shin when she kicked him under the table. They glared at each other for a full minute until Yuki asked her how her day had been.

Turning away, Sakura smiled as she answered the question in detail – a slow growing redness on her cheeks and a sparkle in her eyes. Toya only grumbled under his breath about stupid little sisters and their inability to have consistent reactions as he helped himself to some food.

Later than night, as he was bidding his friend farewell, Sakura came running up with a pair of orange and lavender roses he knew she had grabbed from the vase in the living room. Tomoyo had brought over a whole bouquet of them earlier in the week, just the latest in a long line of subtle love confessions. Although when she had brought them, Toya hadn’t had the urge to smash them under his foot and then thrown them in the garbage bin like he did now.

“It was really nice to meet you,” Sakura said a little breathlessly and blushing profusely as she thrust the roses toward Yuki. “You should take these home. They look really nice on a mantle place.”

“Thanks,” Yuki replied slowly, taking them gently from her hands and patting her on the head. He seemed confused by her actions but didn’t say anything more before bidding them both a final farewell and taking off. As Toya watched him leave, he found himself wishing that he had sent Yuki home sooner, and the urge to squash the roses grew. But then, he felt guilty for those thoughts about a second later. Shaking his head, Toya decided he should buy his friend apology flowers to make up for it. Red roses were good right? No…that was too much too soon. Maybe purple hyacinths instead? Yeah, that worked. 

So, the next day, Toya walked over to Yuki’s house and handed him half a dozen hyacinths. His friend seemed confused again, if a little more curious and thoughtful than he had the day before. Still, he only smiled and said thank you as he accepted the gift.

~

As though that first invitation had been magic itself or lit some sort of fuse, Yuki started visiting Toya’s house regularly, usually at least once a week. Toya was over the moon at this turn of events (even if he wouldn’t admit it to himself), but he wasn’t the only one. Being younger and far more open than her brother, Sakura was a lot more obvious about her feelings too - she continued to be perpetually red whenever Yuki was around. Also, Sakura deviated her schedule slightly by increasing her efforts to wake up on time just so she could travel to school with them in the morning: her on her rollerblades, the two high schoolers on their bikes.

Toya was slightly less obvious about his feelings, but he, too, orchestrated a way to spend more time with Yuki. See, every year, because their homeroom teacher was also the drama teacher, her homeroom class would do a Christmas play, and although the drawing was supposed to be completely random, Toya may have helped things play out a bit so that he and Yuki were put in charge. It was great in that he now had two officially school-sanctioned hours to hang out with Yuki every afternoon, but it was not so great because they couldn’t come up with anything beyond “not A Christmas Carol” and “not the story of baby Jesus” because that’s what everyone always did. 

“What if you took a fairy tale and acted it out using Santa’s elves?” Sakura had suggested after listening to Toya complain and Yuki sigh non-stop for about five minutes straight one morning. At that, the two young men halted their bikes and locked gazes for a few seconds. Sakura, who was a little bit ahead, didn’t notice them stop, but it didn’t matter. Because less than thirty seconds after they stopped, Toya shrugged, Yuki smiled, and they continued on their journey.

“That’s not a bad idea, little monster,” Toya said.

“It’s a wonderful idea,” Yuki declared, and that’s how the idea of Snow White and the Seven Elves was born. Mrs. Clause was Snow White, Santa was the prince, and elves took the place of the seven dwarves. Since it was originally Sakura’s idea, she got to help write the play, and of course, she enlisted the help of Tomoyo to design the costumes. Toya didn’t mind, because it meant less work for him. Toya did mind because it meant Sakura was suddenly spending a lot more time with Yuki.

Eventually, the night of the play came and went. If the clapping and shouts and whistles from the audience was any indication, their play was a huge success, but Toya honestly didn’t care. His contributions to the play had basically consisted of following Yuki’s directions and making sure others did the same.

Nevertheless, he was watching the stage area like a hawk as the drama teacher called Sakura up to thank her for her contributions to the play. He knew Yuki had prepared a gift, but he didn’t know what. It was probably flowers…but which kind? That was the important bit. As expected, Yuki walked onto stage carrying a bouquet.

Toya squinted and was able to see they were all roses; some were dark pink, some pale pink, some white. That did nothing to alleviate his fears. He watched as Sakura accepted them with a bright smile and dark red cheeks, and he felt an unpleasant flop occur in his stomach. However, when she passed him on her way back, Toya breathed a sigh of relief. Every single rose stem was clean – no thorns, but more importantly, no leaves.

~ 

The snow outside melted, and the raging winds of winter mellowed out a bit. However, they weren’t alone, as the constant wind that blew round Yuki grew inconsistent. It was gradual, at first, only stopping for a few seconds before picking right back up again. The halt in the breeze would stop once, maybe twice, per week, so Toya convinced himself it was nothing to worry about. Yuki would tell him if it was important or becoming dangerous. Surely, the teenager knew Toya could be trusted with this secret; surely, he could see the gust that constantly blew around Toya.

But Yuki said nothing. And rather than going away, the halts in the breeze became more frequent and started to last longer. More so, as the constant breeze around Yuki steadily grew slower, it was also a weaker wind that blew. Still, Yuki said nothing, and Toya grew weary of waiting for Yuki to say something. However, every time he tried to approach his friend about his secret, something got in his way. Sometimes, it was his sister barging in unannounced, but mostly, it was the new transfer student, Nakuru.

She had strode confidently into class on her first day, followed in by a gust of wind stronger than even Toya’s, one that never died down. She had taken one look at him, smiled devilishly, and declared, “I have finally found you, my love. I can’t wait to eat you up!”

The teachers and students watched in horrified fascination as the girl bound over to Toya, knocked aside the person who sat behind him, and latched herself onto his back. “I’ll take this seat, thanks.”

Toya did his best to ignore the gale that whipped up from their combined wind and wrestled out of her grip. He helped the girl Nakuru had knocked to the floor and tried to apologize, but the girl only shook her head and moved to an empty seat. She wasn’t going to risk injury fighting for her former desk.

“Nakuru,” the teacher called out in a clear reprimand. “I expect you to treat your classmates and fellow students with much more respect that that. I understand that you’re excited because it’s your first day, but be more careful in the future.”

“Yes, Morita-sensei,” Nakuru said, bowing her head in what appeared to be a sincere gesture. “I’m sorry. I won’t do it again.” But then, as soon as the teacher left the classroom the following break, Nakuru had latched onto Toya once again. She spent the entire break conversing with their classmates with her arms around his shoulders and her head resting atop his.

When lunch came around, she followed Toya and Yuki to their normal eating spot, chattering all the while about her favorite movies and tv shows. And “Oh, Toya, you haven’t seen it yet? We should watch it together!” She tried to take hold of his hand several times, but Toya pulled his hand away every time.

She had even come running up to the elementary school when he went to pick up his sister that day. Nakuru jumped on Toya’s back, stole his half-eaten popsicle, and introduced herself to Sakura as his future girlfriend before running off to God knows where.

The girl was insane, and Toya wanted nothing to do with her. She was rude, obstinate, and utterly entirely selfish, but the worst thing of all was how she stole Yuki’s smile. Nakuru might not think he had noticed, but every time she latched onto him, she locked gazes with Yuki and smirked. Each time, it was only for a few seconds, but the smile on Yuki’s face would be replaced with a frown, furrowed brows, or just a blank expression. And when his smile returned, it was never as bright as before. That was the most unforgiveable action on her part.

And that day, the day Nakuru had first arrived, was the first day in a very long time that Yuki decided to not join Sakura and Toya for the rest of their walk home. That day, when Yuki turned to go home, his smile had not yet returned when waving good bye. That day was the second day in a very long time that Toya’s mother appeared before him once more.

Hours after he and Sakura had returned home, Toya sat at his desk, staring out the window trying to figure out what Nakuru could possibly want with him. He wasn’t naïve enough to believe that she really had fallen in love with him at first sight. It was far more likely that she wanted something from him, something to do with his magic. She obviously had more than enough on her own, but well, so did he, and she definitely wanted something from him. Deciding to confront her about it the next day so he could hopefully avoid her in the future, Toya stood up and turned around only to see his mother sitting on his bed with furrowed eyebrows and pierced lips.

“Mom?” Toya asked with a wavering tone.

“This new girl,” his mother said, her voice quiet and stilted. Her mouth continued moving, but no words came out. Her normally translucent image was fading, becoming transparent. Toya tried to urge her to stop, shaking his head and telling her to calm down, but apparently her worry was so great that she wasn’t going to stop fighting the veil. 

Her feet disappeared first, dissolving into smoke. Then, her legs, abdomen, arms, and chest followed, flowing away in the same cloud of smoke, until all that was left was her head. Finally, her lips stopped moving. She stopped dissolving. Neither he nor she moved for a whole minute until a determined smile made its way on her face. She shook her head, and flowers fell out of her long, curly brown hair. Then, her head disappeared as well, dissolving into sparkles. 

As though from a distance, he heard, “Don’t worry. I’ll visit you again.”

Sighing with relief, Toya looked down at the flowers and saw monkshood and snapdragons. He really appreciated his mother’s concern, but the flowers she had given him didn’t tell him anything he hadn’t already strongly suspected. But considering his mother’s gift and actions, maybe he should proceed with more caution where this girl, Nakuru, was concerned.

~

So, Toya didn’t approach her, and waited for Nakuru to make a move. But her behavior remained the same as it did that first day, with the glomping, the following, and the food stealing. Nakuru seemed to be everywhere. Especially every time he tried to talk to Yuki. Whenever the words “I don’t want you to disappear” or “I know you’re actually…” came out of his mouth, Nakuru popped up of nowhere to drag him away somewhere or just to interrupt. Hell, one time she’d even dropped onto him out of a tree!

Then came the day he’d been dreading most of all. For two weeks, the campus had been filled with girls chittering excitedly over what kind of chocolate they should buy. Red, pink, and white decorations and event posters covered the campus’s bulletin boards, office windows, and locker room doors. There was an increase in the smell of artificial fruit around the girls, and a distinctive lack of body odor around the guys.

On that day, Nakuru assaulted Toya literally as soon as he walked through the school gates. She jumped from a second story window with an excited shout of his name and made sure she landed directly on him. So, Toya ended up sprawled on the ground on his back with an insane girl straddling his hips. Before he could even catch his breath, Nakuru was shoving a bag in his face and, with a wide “innocent” smile, saying “Here! Valentine’s Day Chocolate!”

“Why me?!” Toya groaned as he stared unimpressed at the girl. He was so tired of all this. And of course, that was a rhetorical question, but Nakuru answered it anyway.

“Because I like you Toya!” she commented, smiling even brighter.

“Gee…thanks,” Toya replied sarcastically with a defeated sigh. Maybe he should just take the damn chocolate. Would that get rid of her?

“No, thank you,” Nakuru declared, her smile turning slightly devilish quite suddenly. “After all, I’m about to take the thing you hold most dear.” Now, that got his attention. Eyes widening in shock, Toya stared at her, wondering if that had been her goal all along. To take Yuki away from him…well, if that’s what it was her action hadn’t been ineffective.

But then, she leaned in as though to kiss him on the neck, and the wind of his magic whipped into a frenzy as she did so. Suddenly realizing what she’d been after the whole time, Toya grabbed ahold of her sides and pushed her away with a decisive, “I’ll decide who gets that.”

Then, he stood up and walked away with a parting shot of, “Oh, and by the way, I do like someone. Just not you.” Just in case she didn’t get the message clearly enough yet. As he walked away she fangirled about how cool he was for a bit before delivering a pretty powerful parting shot of her own.

“Oh Toya. How can you give it to the one you want if that person doesn’t even have a clue?” She was right, of course, but he ignored her and continued walking away. He needed to find Yuki and invite him over after school so Sakura could give him her chocolate. He might not like the fact that Sakura also loved Yuki, but he had already decided not to be an asshole about it. Hopefuly, he would be the one Yuki chose to love in the end…but before that, he had to save him…even if Yuki never returned his feelings.

~

The winds both outside and around Yuki continued to mellow, had slowed to a point it was almost no longer perceptible. More than that, it was stopping every few hours. Toya continued to grow more worried with each passing day.

And the day Toya first spotted cherry blossoms blooming anew on his way to school, Yuki finally collapsed in the middle of gym class during the baseball lesson. Everyone in class gathered around Yuki, worried expressions and verbal musings about his physical health abound. Toya raced over from across the field, picked up his unconscious friend, and headed toward the health office. He heard Nakuru screaming after him, but he ignored her. Toya didn’t stop until he was in the empty nurse’s office setting unconscious friend down on a bed. 

There was no more time. Even as he watched, the breeze around Yuki was dying. As soon as Yuki awoke, Toya was going to fix this mess. 

A few minutes later when Yuki did awaken, he asked Toya, “Did I fall asleep again?”

“Yeah, in the middle of gym,” Toya answered.

“There must be something wrong with me,” Yuki said sadly. “I’m just so sleepy.”

“There is something wrong with you,” Toya responded with a slight frown. “You just can’t figure it out.”

“Huh?” Those sad, ice blue eyes furrowed in confusion and turned to look more directly at their friend.

“Yuki, I…” Toya started attain, leaning down, but he was interrupted yet again…

“EXCUSE ME!” A certain high-pitched voice floated through the open window. Eyes narrowing dangerously, Toya turned and saw Nakuru paste what she obviously thought was an innocent expression on her face as she waved her hand around like an idiot. “Is Tsukishiro alright?”

“I’m alright Akizuki,” Yuki said in a miserable attempt to not worry Toya further and give a polite, proper response to his classmate.

“Toya!” Nakuru stated happily leaning further into the window as Toya approached it, obviously pleased that Yuki seemed to be making her job easier. “The teacher says you have to come back for the baseball test. Without you and Tsukishiro, the team only has seven people.”

“I’m kinda busy here,” Toya replied, pointing at his best friend. He wasn’t going to let her get in his way this time…not now.

“You’ll get a zero on the test if you don’t go!” she sang. Nope, he wasn’t going anywhere. Yuki was far more important than one lousy test. “Everyone’s counting on you.” Well, shit. She had him there. His Japanese social graces dictated he couldn’t just ignore that.

Sighing, he turned back to Yuki and said, “I’ll come back right after this is over. You just stay and sleep, okay?”

“Okay,” Yuki agreed.

“I’ll go on ahead Toya,” Nakuru called out cheerily as she dashed away a few steps. Rather apprehensively, Toya turned away and moved toward the door but was stopped by a gentle tug on his shirt. Looking back, he saw a pale thin hand grasping his shirt.

“What’s wrong?” Yuki asked, eyes barely open when he noticed Toya stop. There was a short, telling pause before the other teen noticed what he was doing. Surprised by his own actions, Yuki pulled his hand back with a soft “Oh!” escaping his lips. That, more than anything, made Toya’s decision for him. Smiling gently at his friend, Toya knew Yuki really was the most important thing after all.

“Toooooyaaaaaaa! Hurry up!” Nakuru called from the window, obviously having noticed that Toya hadn’t followed her.

“Tell the teacher I don’t care about the test,” he told her.

“What?” she cried, fake smile still adorning her expression. However, her eyebrows were scrunched up with agitation. She was fighting a losing battle, and she knew it. “But…he’ll get mad! You’ll let your team down!”

“So?” Toya retorted pointedly, walking over to her and actually glaring this time. He was just done with her interference. Grabbing the curtain, he leaned forward into her space, so much so that she was backing up. “Look, I need to talk to Yukito. Stay out of the way.”

“O…okay,” she stammered out, expression going dumb from shock. With one last glance her way, Toya slammed the window shut, and for good measure, he yanked the curtains closed as well. But then, he approached Yuki slowly. He sat down on the bed gently. He lifted his hand to caress Yuki’s cheek softly.

“Okay, listen up,” Toya whispered with an understanding smile. “I know that you aren’t a human being. So, you don’t need to hide it anymore.”

Instantly, the light in Yuki’s eyes disappeared, and a sudden strong wind blew through the nurse’s office, like the last gale of a dying storm. Yuki’s body was surrounded in light. Great wings burst forth from his back, enveloping him entirely. The light became a soft glow, surrounding an angel who was dressed in clothes reminiscent of both Chinese and European fashions.

“So, we finally meet,” Toya said to the white-haired angel. “What’s your name?”

“Yue,” the angel answered, deceptively calm and trying to appear cold. But Toya could tell it was just a shield. Mostly, the angel was just confused. “Yukito didn’t want you to know that he wasn’t human, that he was only a temporary form of Yue. So, I couldn’t return to my true form in front of you. Yukito didn’t realize what he was feeling. When he stopped you from leaving, it was subconscious, but the subconscious movement betrayed his true emotions. You are…special to Yukito.”

Ah. So that’s what it was. Two separate personalities who shared the same body and soul, both real but also individual. Yue didn’t really understand Yuki’s feelings, but that was okay. Either way, Toya still loved Yuki with all his heart. Also, it was nice to get confirmation that Yuki really did think of him as special…maybe it wasn’t the way Toya hoped, but with the way Yue was acting, he rather thought it was.

“You once told him you didn’t want to lose him,” Yue’s words were a statement, but Toya could hear the obvious question within them.

“Yeah,” he confirmed. No point in being anything other than straight-forward. Yue might not understand everything he saw, but he certainly saw everything.

“But the current master (Is that what he was calling Sakura? Is that what that weird stuffed animal called Sakura?) doesn’t yet have the power to uphold Yue’s existence,” the angel’s tone was still calm, still cold, like he wasn’t speaking of his own mortality. “Do you know what needs to be done?”

“Yes,” Toya answered instantly. “If my power can keep Yukito alive, I’m willing to give it all.”

Yue paused for a moment before pointing out, “…you won’t be able to see your mother again, you know.”

“Well, it’s not fair that I’m the only one who can see her anyway,” Toya said, smiling ruefully at the unexpected kindness. “But…if I lose my power, I won’t be able to tell when Sakura is in trouble. Will you protect her for me?” Yue’s shocked expression at that question was actually pretty endearing and, dare he say it…cute. Maybe the two personalities weren’t as different as he initially thought.

But then, the calm and cool expression returned. “I don’t need to promise that. I would give my life to protect my master.”

“Hey! I don’t want you to do that,” Toya exclaimed, standing up and leveling a flat, unimpressed look at Yue. Apparently, he didn’t get it, and he wasn’t being purposely obtuse like Nakuru either. “After all, if you disappear, Yukito disappears too. I want you to protect Sakura...but you better protect yourself as well.”

“Is that your condition for giving me your magic?” the angel asked.

“I guess so,” Toya answered thoughtfully, smile returning to his face.

At that, Yue gazed at Toya for a few minutes as though trying to work out a rather difficult puzzle before huffing out, “Very well…I’ll try.”

Unbidden, a chuckle escaped Toya’s throat. Yue really was cute. Smiling even wider, he said to an adorably confused Yue, “You really are alike. You and Yukito.”

Apparently choosing to ignore that last comment, Yue leaned forward, grabbed Toya by the shoulders and positioned he head as though he was about to kiss his neck, just like Nakuru had done on Valentine’s Day. Like the last time, Toya’s wind whipped up excitedly around him but nowhere near as violently as the last time, because this time, he was prepared…and willing. Then, Yue inhaled, gently sucking in the wind that blew around Toya, and that was the last thing he remembered before blacking out.

~

When he awoke, he was in his own bed at home, but there was an interesting new addition to his bedside table – a vase filled with one red and one coral rose, both with all leaves still attached to the stem. Toya looked around the room and found Yuki sitting on his desk chair, staring at him. Toya couldn’t see or feel any wind blowing around Yuki, but he was looking a lot less pale and a lot more healthy than he had in a long time.

“So, my magic was enough?” Toya asked, needing the confirmation.

“Yes, it was,” Yuki answered, walking over to the bed and helping Toya into a sitting position.

“I’m glad,” Toya said with a smile. Then, he gestured to the roses. “I’m also glad you’re actually confirming you feel the same way as me.”

Yuki blushed and nodded, but he didn’t turn away. This time when he leaned it, it was for an actual kiss.

~

The following weeks weren’t fun. Toya felt dizzy and completely exhausted, two side effects he really hadn’t anticipated when giving up his magic. Although, it made sense as he had quite literally given away a part of himself. Plus, he was constantly worried about his sister. Still as out of it as he felt, he knew there was one very important thing he had to do. He had to talk to Sakura, not to rub anything in her face, but he felt that he should be honest with her. For all that they fought, he actually did care about his sister. It took a few weeks, but he managed to work up the courage eventually.

“Hey, Sakura,” he said, leaning against the jam as he knocked on her open door. “Can I come in?”

“Yeah, sure,” she answered slowly, gesturing to the chair in front of the desk. Her eyebrows were furrowed in concentration, obviously trying to figure out what was going on. After all, he rarely called her by her name.

“I just wanted to tell you,” Toya said as he sat down. “That Yuki and I are going out now.”

“I kind of knew it happened,” Sakura admitted with a heavy sigh, turning away as her eyes began watering. “I was just hoping that maybe…in the future…I even sort of confessed, but he loves you best.”

“Yeah,” Toya commented, rubbing the back of his neck. “Sorry.”

“It’s okay,” she sniffled. “You love him best too, don’t you?”

“Yeah.”

“And you’ll treat him right; you’ll make him happy.”

“Of course.”

“Then, it’s okay.”

“Thanks.”

“Whatever.” When she said that, Toya shook his head, knowing he’d been dismissed. She probably wanted to be alone, and he understood that. Still, there was one last thing he had to do before he left. As he was walking out the door, he said…

“You’re still a little monster.” 

“And you’re still a jerk.”

**Author's Note:**

> Just a little note on the meanings of the different flowers.
> 
> Cherry blossoms = change, a beginning, an end, impermanence
> 
> Yellow roses = joy and friendship
> 
> Dark crimson roses = mourning
> 
> Lavender roses = enchantment
> 
> Orange roses = fascination
> 
> Purple hyacinths = an apology
> 
> Dark pink roses = gratitude
> 
> Pale pink roses = grace and joy
> 
> White roses = innocence and secrecy
> 
> Rose leaves = “you may hope”
> 
> Monkshood = beware, a deadly foe is near
> 
> Snapdragons = deception
> 
> Coral roses = desire
> 
> Red roses = love


End file.
